Space heater



y 1949- H. L. BLACKWELDER 2,469,149

SPACE HEATER Filed Feb. 20, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l 28 29 34 I 27 I8 lfil I mi 35 29 I 1 275 22 2 may :13, 25 27 0 o l. 0 I o: 33 33 0 26 o 27 l7 1 0 o t E :l IHHUW I2 I 1 I 40 All I 37 3a \I4 r4 36 I0 Fig. 2

l 26 E j II I I 3 Fig. 4.

Inventor Ho race L. BIackwe/der WWW y 1949. H. L. BLACKWELDER 2,469,149

SPACE HEATER Filed 9 7 2 Shets-Sheet 2 LLJuJuJuJLLJumLLI LJLILLJ :3 1 5 Fig. 6. In veutor S Horace L Black welder &

By @zmaoifiu I 6 I ,l I

W a I ttorneys Patented May 3, 1949 :fES

Claims.

This invention 'relates to a space heateraand "more particularly to a portable electric heater.

The primary object of the invention isto afford plugged mand operated from 1 any suitable elect'ric' power-:outlet=or the type conventionally employed foi supplying electric power to' appliances, such as lamps, ironsg toasters and similar equipment.

Another object is properly to huniidi-fy the atmosphere .in T the space to be heated in orderfito :increasec'the efilciency ofthe devicw stride-Supply selean warm ;-airiree from du'st; sinoke; adirt-= and *todors commonly associatd withiportahleheaters =omploying ".kerosene and ilike "fuels.

"The: above andether objects may be attained :by ::employing lthis cinvention z whi'oh -'--=embddies qamongz itsf features i a trou'gh adapted to contain water,: a: perforated-a orous' humidifier rising from ;.'.said;;trough'-i-withi fits lower: end immersed' in the xwater containedxinl the .trou'gh an'd a -heaitingmnit supported aby ithe fltrou'gh near the huniid'i'fier whereby air heated-byithe heating:unitand passin Qthrough' the: I'p'erforations rain the 1 :humidifier swillrbermoistened.

mother 3 features iiinolude Hmeans :zto z produce a rfiow of. aina'around theiheating un'itxand th'rough thet'perforationsin the humidifier and means --to rdireottthenheatedaairzithrough ithe said rperforw v-tionsgand' :into: the"; surroun ding 1 atmosphere.

.. In: the :drawings, 2 lT-igurev leis aside: view voi a heatei embodying thQ fBatIlTBSSIOfAihlS invention,

a Figure" 2. is a verticalsectionalaview through the heater illustrated .inf Figure; 1,

Figure"" 3 lisibaihorizontal Y sectional view through the heater illustrated in Figure 1,

Figure 4 isvan enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially. along the .line- 4-4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken-substantially alongth'e'line 55 of Figure-2,

-Figure6: is an enlarged fragmentaryusectional view-taken substantially along-. .the Inlet-646 of vFigure -3,-sand 'which extend through the outer-wall of thetrough as will be readily understood upon reference' to F-igure' 4. This'-=trough- 1 1 may be formed orrany -sniit'ahle"material and hasatta'chedito 'i-ts' 1underside at radially spaced points -legs l4 whiz'ihitogether with the trough-form a stand--for -the heating unit and the humidifier to be more' fully here- I inifter described. Asillustratd, the inner wall l 5' or the trou'gh'lis' or annular iormatio-nraridilies l0 in spaced concentric relation withhthe' outer wall '16. The inner wall -i S ls also of-zgreater height tharr the outer wall IS so as-ito -form a seat -foir the -electric-heaterto be more "fully hereinafter deascribed.

PSeated 011 T1 the upper =Jedge-v of the wall Kl l5 ta-re the "lower *ends 61" the legs H of a splder designnated generally -lt which is ipreferably '-formed aof a. heat resistantnon-conducting material such as a; ceramic. -As illustrated in ithe 1 drawings, the ;:legsi l-l -of the spideracurve:upwardly and inwardly Etoi :forms a substantially: dome shape'd structure, rand each 'legi is provided: on its outerside with slongitudinallyaspaoed;\grooves l9 =in whlch' heat- ,Qing" coil izszuiare ..adapted -to seat. These heating 251 oilsrzarecoupled through a suitable conductor I ithroughlsa' switchff 2 2 110 i any suitable source of upowensupply; so" that the coils 2 D may he enerigiaed fian'd aheat ithe surrounding atmosphere. Each leg I! of the spider i8 is provided atfiits golzlower rondt withixan :inwardly extendin xrarm 23 awhiche asuillustrate da'in Figures 2,- l and" i6'"=rests arm thezupper. ed'geeof: the wall- 15 and ls -provided uwithrtazdownturned lug 24 for engagementwith a-thet. inneradace ofi the wall. It willithus be seen tith'at the spid'enwilltbe located concentrically with rrelaitionutmuthe trough 0.

ESeated'iinr the-I annular face lormed b 'etween the therein. A cap or cover 28 closes the upper endof the humidifier 25 so that air passing upwardly through the spider l8 will be directed outwardly through the openings 21 previously referred to. The cover 28 constitutes a disc-like body provided at its peripheral edge with a downturned flange 29 which serves to hold in place the casing, to be more fully hereinafter described. The cover 28 is pierced at spaced intervals to receive the upper ends of tie bolts 39, the lower ends of which are threaded into internally screw threaded sockets 3| formed in the trough [9 in longitudinal alignment with the openings in the cover.

In order to protect the humidifier 25 from injury and also to improve the finished appearance of the unit, I provide a tubular jacket 32 which is provided with radially spaced rows of longitudinally spaced louvers 33 through which the heated and humidified air passing through the openings 27 escapes to the surrounding atmosphere. The upper portion of the jacket 32 serves as a support for the control switch 22 of the electric heater and also for a control switch 34 for the fan to be more fully hereinafter described. As illustrated, the jacket 32 is supported in spaced concentric relation to the humidifier 25 with its upper end welded as at 35 to the cover 28.

While the heater so far described will function satisfactorily to warm an enclosed space through convection, I find it to be far more efficient when a fan is employed to circulate the air through the heater. To this end I provide on the trough Ill at radially spaced intervals inwardly extending lugs 36 which serve to support the spider 31 carrying a fan motor 33 to the upper end of the shaft of which is attached a fan 39. As illustrated in the drawings, the axis of the shaft of the motor 38 coincides with the longitudinal axis of the heater, and the fan is located in such a position that the blades thereof travel in a horizontal plane which coincides with the lower ends of the legs I! of the spider. It will thus be seen that when the fan is set into operation, a draft of air will be produced upwardly through the heater. The fan motor 38 is coupled through the medium of a suitable conductor containing cable 40 with the switch 34 so that the operation of the fan may be governed independently of the operation of the heater. It will be understood of course, that the fan motor as well as the heater may be served through a conventional power cable or attachment cord which will be plugged into a convenient power outlet of the type ordinarily employed.

In use, it will be understood that the heater is transported to the enclosed space to be heated and the power supply cable thereof plugged into a convenient power outlet. Upon manipulating the switch 22, the heating coils will be energized so that air entering the bottom of the heating unit will contact the heating coils 20 and fiow upwardly and then out through the passages 27 and louvers 33 to the surrounding atmosphere. The upward fiow of the heated air will cause cooler air to fiow in at the bottom and the heater may be operated solely by convection. In order, however, to increase the efiiciency of the heater, the switch 34 may be manipulated to energize the motor 38 and drive the fan 39, thus creating a forced circulation of air through the heater. Water is placed in the trough l0, and by reason of the immersion of the lower end of the humidifier therein, and the capillary effect of the 4 pores in the body thereof it will be obvious that air passing through the openings 2'! will absorb moisture from the humidifier, thus improving the heating effect and the health of the occupants of the room or space being heated. Obviously, if so desired, the fan 39 may be run without turning on the heating coils in order to effect a cooling of the space, if so desired.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A space heater comprising a ring-shaped trough adapted to contain water, a perforated porous tubular humidifier rising from the trough with the lower end thereof immersed in water contained in said trough, a heating unit supported on the trough near the humidifier whereby air heated by the heating unit and passing through the perforations in the humidifier will be moistened, and a motor driven fan supported by the trough near the lower end of the humidifier to produce a flow of air axially of the humidifier and around the heating unit.

2. A space heater comprising a ring-shaped trough adapted to contain water, a perforated porous tubular humidifier rising from the trough with its lower end immersed in water contained in said trough, a heating unit supported on the trough near the humidifier whereby air heated by the heating unit and passing through the perforations in the humidifier will be moistened, a motor driven fan supported by the trough near the lower end of the humidifier to produce a flow of air axially of the humidifier and around the heating unit, and a louvered jacket carried by the trough and enclosing the humidifier in concentric spaced relation therewith.

3. A space heater comprising a ring-shaped trough adapted to contain water, a perforated porous tubular humidifier rising from the trough with the lower end thereof immersed in water contained in said trough, a dome-shaped spider supported on the trough in concentric spaced relation within the humidifier, an electrical heating coil wound about the spider, a motor driven fan supported by the trough near the base of the spider for producing a fiow of air axially thereof and a louvered jacket surrounding the humidifier in concentric spaced relation therewith.

HORACE L. BLACKWELDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,431,719 Brown Oct. 10, 1922 1,535,287 Beeler Apr. 28, 1925 1,669,588 Burns et a1 May 15, 1928 1,712,204 Gibney May 7, 1929 1,893,954 Lorenz et al Jan. 10, 1933 

